Flora & Fauna Pt. 14

"Big mistake telling me that. Now you're definitely going to do all the milling."

"Nooo." I lay over his back as I pout.

Ares is snickering at my dramatics as he reappears from the back with a piled-high plate in each hand. Andrius chats with him mostly about work related things that I missed in my time away. I try not to feel left out as I store away the information.

"I missed the food here so much." I mumble before popping the last bite of the skillet-toasted sandwich into my mouth.

"Hey." Ares interrupts and grabs my hand from across the bar. He looks at the ring, then rolls his eyes at his brother. "I can't believe you got her a heart shaped one."

"She likes it." Andrius defends.

Behind us, the door opens and a quick gust of cold comes in. Neither of them look, so neither do I as I answer. "Yeah! It's not your ring. And I think it's perfect."

"What ring?" A pretty, lilting voice asks from behind.

I turn back toward the question and my stomach sinks. Lillian is somehow even more stunning up close. The sight of her constricts my insides. Her thin, snowy brows furrow in confusion at me. The same gaze darts down to my ring, then up to Andrius.

"What the fuck is this?" she snaps as she points down at me.

"Lil, get the fuck out of here." Ares commands.

"What are you doing here?" And asks at the same time.

"I came here to talk to you," she answers, ignoring Ares.

"We have nothing to discuss."

"We apparently have more to discuss than I thought." Her eyes flick at me and back to him. "You're really going this far to make me feel bad about what happened between us?"

"Not everything has to do with you, Lillian." Andrius snarls as he stands and puts himself between us. "In fact, nothing in my life is ever going to have anything to do with you again. That's the magic of ending a relationship. And you certainly ended ours in spectacular fashion!"

"I didn't end anything! Any relationship that goes on for long has bumps in the road but that doesn't mean you can-"

"Bumps?!"

The feeling of a finger tapping my shoulder makes me jump where I'm still sitting on my knees on the leather cushion. Ares is making a come hither gesture at me when I turn toward him. I open my mouth to speak but he shushes me and points to the doorway that leads into the kitchen area behind the bar. Andrius and Lillian are oblivious as I slink away with Ares. The volume of the argument only grows once we're finally hidden in the back.

"Their fights take an average of seven minutes. Best to let it fizzle out naturally. You can help me with dishes while we wait."

The sink basin is too high for me to reach into. I look from the metal wall of the tub to Ares and make an uncertain sound. Only then does he notice the impossibility of it.

"On second thought, how about providing me with moral support while I do dishes?"

"That I can do." I nod. "Did they always fight like that?"

"Yeah." He rolls his eyes as he scrubs at a bowl. "Of course And always found a way to blame himself for it no matter how fucking insane she was being."

"I hope we never fight like that."

Ares makes a face and hands me the bowl. I take a washcloth and rub it dry before sliding it onto the lowest row of a wall-mounted rack. He picks something else up from the soapy water and scrubs.

"You're staying for a while this time, right?"

"Claudius says I'll have at least a month to spend here that he can account for. With his business trips and-"

Ares sneers and his voice becomes less friendly. "How long are you going to be doing this for?"

"What?"

"This fake marriage bullshit."

I shrug self-consciously. "I don't know."

"How can you not know?"

"You were there when we discussed it. There wasn't really a specific timeline. I guess as long as they need the cover?"

He sighs and hands me another item to dry.

"You hate that I agreed to this, don't you?"

His hands pause and his jaw clenches in annoyance before he answers. "I don't like that it leaves And alone waiting for you. He may never tell you how much it bothers him. But I don't suffer from the same tendency to be a push-over that he does."

"I don't like being away from him either."

"Then do something about it."

"It's not that simple. I care about Claude and Marko-"

"And when did their relationship start taking precedence over yours?"

"It doesn't."

Ares casts a stern look down at me. "If you say so."

The tension in his expression makes it clear he has more to say about the matter. Whatever it is, he holds it in. It's easy to tell that what he doesn't say is something much more harsh. And I'm grateful not to hear it. Even if he does have a point. Maybe especially because he does.

Ares stops cleaning and dries his hands on a washcloth. Outside the doorway, I hear the sound of hooves heading toward the entrance. Although the yelling still hasn't stopped.

"Ready to reenter the fray?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The breadth of his form partially hides me as I walk beside him out to the front. Lillian is standing a couple feet from the door. Her brightly painted lip curls when she sees me. And is still standing where he was, looking thoroughly drained by the last few minutes.

"What's really the matter, Lil?" Ares calls over to her. "Sean already sick of your shit and you need to come back to someone with a higher tolerance?"

"Shut the fuck up, you overgrown lubcock! Just because no one wants you for more than a single evening-"

"I'm done entertaining this for at least one lifetime, Lillian!" Andrius snarls.

With dramatic flair, she reels back at his words. Lillian takes a deep breath and straightens her back in the exaggerated, showy way I recognize from certain people in Leaven. She flicks her long braid over one shoulder before deigning to respond.

"Fine! I will go. But consider me a closed door in your life if you let me leave now. And when that thing over there grows tired of you." She points at me with a dismissive twirl to her finger. "Don't come crawling back to me. I will no longer be available."

"No crawling. Got it. Great. Now go." Andrius sighs.

For a split second, she looks flabbergasted at her final declaration not getting the response she wants. But she quickly reigns in her shock and exits. The last wisp of her white tail is disappearing before she turns around and takes a step into the pub again.

"And one more thing-"

Andrius and Ares loudly tell her to leave in unison, their voices overlapping.

"Your father never would have approved of such a relationship-"

"If you want to fuck our dad, Lillian, be my guest!" Ares calls to her. "I'll even let you borrow a shovel!"

Her pointed jaw falls at his words and she spins around to leave again. The force she slams the door with makes the framed woodland painting on the wall beside it swing violently before falling from its place. The corner of the brassy frame hits first, shattering the glass and sending it spilling across the floor.

"You're paying for that!" Ares yells at the closed door. Thankfully, it doesn't reopen.

.

Back at the house, Andrius looks no less strained. He hesitates at the front door while I pull off my peacoat and hang it on the rack in the corner.

"Four years, huh?" I say tentatively as I go closer to him. "You have the patience of a saint."

Instead of laughing, he sighs and doesn't even look up from the floor. "I'm going to go to the workshop for a while."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"If it's okay with you, I think I want to be alone for a bit." He looks at me and quickly elaborates. "I'm not upset with you at all. I just... I need to do some angry sanding or something to vent."

"I understand. I'll be here at the house if you need me, okay?"

Andrius nods and leaves.

.

Alone and with a buzzing mind, I try to be useful. And doesn't really invest in useless possessions or anymore of anything than he needs, but I do the small amounts of tidying that are available. Anything to busy my hands. I finish organizing a stack of documents on his dresser and slide them all into a leather folder.

Sitting atop my socks in a lower drawer are the remaining gifts from solstice. The one from me containing the closest thing to lingerie I could direct the tailor into making for my body. The one from him is still a mystery to me. The fabric ribbon on the box from the boutique is wrinkled from being moved out of the way and back again over the weeks. I open the rosy colored box enough to peek inside at gossamer white silk and numerous straps.

Maybe a distraction wouldn't hurt. I think as I carry the box with me to the washroom.

.

Centaur fashion relies heavily on drapery. It's the one consistent thing I've noticed here. Particularly in women's fashion. So the design of my lingerie relies on it as well. I added my own notes as I showed the tailor how my hips and legs move, but other than that I let the design be dictated by him and the woman who helped me hide.

The outer robe of gossamer white has wide slits for the arm holes, leaving windows to the lingerie underneath when viewing me from the side. The lace cups of the bra portion are so delicate I feel nude as if I'm wearing a soft breath. The intricate pattern of white gives the effect of frosted glass that barely veils my breasts and nipples underneath. The tailor had trouble understanding how to construct something for my lower half. The fitting being done over my insulated pants probably didn't make it any easier. White straps are evenly spaced up my waist and down the sides of my thighs, holding the risque panties that match the bra on my shape properly. I stick my hands in my hair and shake the waves loose around my face. A little dampness from my bath still sits on my scalp and the spiced apple sugar smell blooms around me.

Standing in front of the mirror in the bedroom, adjusting the straps on my sides, I start to feel silly. This may not be what he wants at this moment. After the day he had. And, well, the night he had thanks to me. On the other side of the house, I hear the front door open and shut. It's too late to second guess this very late solstice present now. I take a deep breath and pointlessly fluff my hair again. The door swings open and I turn to face Andrius. He looks about as uncertain as I feel.

"This was a good idea in my head." I shrug awkwardly and let my arms fall to my sides.

Andrius slowly walks forward until he's standing arms length from me. Before I can say anything more, his hands are around my waist and my back is being pinned to the bed.

"Ah!" I squeak. "Your hands are freezing!"

"Now you know how I feel." he says against my throat, between kisses.

One of his hands slides lower, the rough ice sliding over my bare stomach. The ticklish contrast makes me giggle as I sink down into the mattress, failing to escape his frozen touch. His mouth goes over mine and I moan around the taste of his tongue before his lips return to my throat, my collarbone.

"Oh, is it not fun having someone rub icicles on you?"

I laugh and throw my arms around him, pulling him closer even as I lean my lower body away. "No way my feet were ever this cold."

"I beg to differ."

Raising one leg between us, I press a foot flat to his upper chest and push. Andrius follows my command, leaning away and looking at me with a confused expression, "You haven't told me what you think of this solstice present. And I went through all that effort to hunt down human lingerie."

"I'm happy to show you what I think of it."

"Who said I want to have sex? Maybe I only wanted to see how it paired with my ring." I continue teasingly as I hold out one hand and watch the sparkle of the diamond in the light.

"Ah. Well, in that case, maybe I only wanted to tease you with the mystery of your present for another year."

My performance falters and I look away from my ring to his fervent expression.

"Or would you like to find out what your lustful gift is?"

"You've convinced me." I lower my foot and part my legs wide enough to accept him.

Andrius' lips meet mine as his forelegs bend to let his lower body rest on the bed again. His fur envelopes my feet and I burrow my toes deeper toward the warmth trapped within. His fingers slide along my sides, pulling at and testing each strap that holds the panties on. The snap of each strap against my skin when he releases it makes me whimper at the delicate, delicious sting. I smile against his kiss and push my hips higher, pressing against the hardness of his muscles. My sex throbs insistently as I press higher and harder against him, begging for more of his touch. The light as air fabric blocking me from him has become as thick as burlap to my needy nerves in the last few moments. I moan in annoyance and reach out with a foot until the tips of my toes drag along the slippery tip of his erection. The stretch necessitates that my lips leave his and his gasp at the contact ruffles the top of my hair.

"Wait, wait, wait." he huffs out frantically.

"Wait for what?" I ask, inching down to stretch my foot closer.

"Um. The. Fuck. I just had it. Gift!"

"Oh, right." I pull my foot away from him and scoot upward.

"We can't both forget." he laughs against my cheek. "One of us has to still be capable of rational thought."

Andrius scrambles up, his legs moving as if his lower half is drunk, and goes to the dresser. Impatient and aflame, I slide one hand low to rub circular motions on my clit. The flat box landing on my stomach interrupts me. I pause my motions and sit up. It's not as light as the box that contained my lingerie, though they're the same size, but it's not evenly heavy either. I bite my lip and tilt the weight in my hands.

"I want so badly to guess correctly. But I think I'm out of ideas."

Andrius smirks. "If you managed to guess what it is, I'd be sure you snooped."

I hum uncertainly to myself and finally give up. The rich smell of leather wafts up to my nose when I pop the lid off the gift box. Inside are variously sized straps of black leather with gold colored buckles. At first I'm certain that it is lingerie, but I slide my hand underneath the stack and take them out. Then I'm not so sure. It's not wearable... I think. The mess of widths and lengths makes no sense.

"Oh. It's, um... what is it?" I look up to see And laughing under his hand at my bewildered expression.

"We don't have to use it if you don't want to. It was just an idea I had. After all that trouble with my forelegs kicking out and scaring you before."

With that information in mind, I pull apart the various pieces and try to figure them out. And takes them from me after a moment and helps me understand. One thicker strap is to go over his lower shoulders, buckles connect to that and go over his sides for me to hold the soft handle-straps that are attached. The thickest piece of leather is for my lower stomach, to hold me comfortably and keep me pressed to his body, so we don't have to rely on me being on top while trying not to be thrown off or finding an alignment of furniture that is the necessary height. Blush suddenly blooms on my cheeks and chest as it dawns on me that no product like this would exist without it being specifically commissioned. Andrius and I are the only couple of our kind that exist in Prophia as far as I'm aware.

"Umm... I like the idea but, how did you have this made exactly?"

He snickers at expression. "It was all very vague. I promise. The design and measurements I did myself, then I just asked that it be made to those specifications. They didn't ask, I didn't tell."

"Oh. Phew."

The black leather is supple as I rub between my fingers. The buckles clink together as I drape the straps over my hands and pull them apart to inspect the total length. I bite my lip and look back up at Andrius as I nod.

"I want to try it."

He leans forward to press me into the bed again, and I press a foot to his chest to pause him as I did before.

"Although." I sigh dramatically. "You interrupted me just as I was really getting into things-"

"Did I now?"

"This all could've been avoided if you'd shown me my gift last time. So, it seems to me that it's your responsibility to get me worked up again if we're going to try all this fancy equipment."

His golden gaze scans my body, then narrows competitively at my own eyes. Somehow, my memory of his vitality is never enough to prepare me for the reality of it. Andrius' arms loop around my thighs in the same instant that his lower body drops to the bed again. I squeak in shock as his head bows between my legs and his hot breath seeps through my silk panties. Without moving them out of the way, his tongue presses over my sex and easily seeks out my clit. Involuntarily, my head is thrown back against the pillow as he presses and swirls his tongue on the sensitive bundle of nerves. I turn my head to gasp and pant against the bed as he torments the memorized map of my body with pleasure.

Finally, he pulls the fabric away and leaves me exposed to his mouth. My feet press at the bed as I writhe under his touch, lifting my hips. They'd pull me away from him if he were not holding me mercilessly in place. His tongue undulates there, lapping at the wetness he endlessly calls from me. I choke on a gasp and feel my sex clench as the orgasm overtakes me. And's tongue darts into me, giving my body something to desperately grab. I'm still searching for my senses when his mout leaves me bereft and he inches forward to tower over me on the bed.

"Sufficiently worked up?" he asks salaciously.

"Very much so." I answer, as I rise to my knees and crawl towards where he stands at the edge of the bed.

"Good. 'Cause I have about ten seconds of sanity left for us to figure out all these straps." He pulls the outer robe off but leaves the rest of the scandalous set on me.

Both of us are eager but easily frustrated as we sort out how to use his gift to me. Or, to us. I can't help but giggle as I situate myself between him and the leather. I slide my hands into the loops that hang down from his lower shoulders and scoot my body back. The widest piece of leather sits comfortably against my lower torso and keeps my hips held tight against his underside. The thick fur of his belly is soft, interrupted only by the feeling of his throbbing heat extended against my buttocks and the small of my back. I bite my lip as I reach down and up for him. Slick wetness slides between my fingers as I wrap a hand around his cock and swing my hips forward enough to free up room for him. His forelegs step back and forth against the floorboards, clearly feeling the instinct to reach out, as I adjust us. A whimper escapes my lips as I rub him against my entrance, reveling in the insistent throb as our dew comingles.

When I slide the head of his cock inside me, I hear Andrius gasp far above. I let go of him and hold the leather straps with each hand. Against my back, I feel his underside shaking with the need to go further. I swing my hips back and begin to moan as more of him slides in, stretching me to a degree I'll never adjust to. Andrius' growl reverberates against my back as his hooves adjust his stance and he thrusts forward in one seamless motion. My moan gives way to an overwhelmed scream as he immediately fills me and more. The leather is soft around my fingertips as my nails sink deep into the material.

As he pulls out to thrust into me again, I reach back for the slack hanging from one of the golden buckles and pull before locking it in place. The adjustment leaves me strapped tighter to his underside with no excess to allow me to swing away from him as he moves. Our mixed wetness drips down my thighs as he slams in and out of me. One of my hands leaves the leather to slide into the fur of his lower chest and twist in it. Each time he fills me to the hilt, his massive balls swing forward and hit my clit. The contact makes me cry out in pleasure when they hit and in ire when they leave.